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I'm glad this is being discussed. Kudos to the person that raised the issue of healthy BMI ranges being different for different cultures. There are different standards for people of different genetic background, although the best thing to go by is likely body fat percentage (since Asians are more likely to be overfat at the same weight as whites, etc.) There are other genetic differences within the realm of heart disease risk that blacks have compared to whites.
Here's something else brought to mind. High risk for these diseases is associated with intra-abdominal fat mass because of the link to cortisol levels. Those women that have more "pear-ish" shapes are at less risk than those with big bellies. So, by emphasizing the butt on a woman who otherwise has a flat stomach is to a certain degree kinda healthy. Another thing - men across cultures have found women with a golden waist to hip ratio sexy. It appears to be something that has been genetically programmed into all men, so an emphasis on a big butt is natural - far more natural than wanting a woman to have big tits. Makes sense - you can give birth better. Of course, all things to moderation, right?
Well anyway, this is something I would rather have a discussion about: why are black Americans - women AND men - more predisposed to being obese? Is it only culture that promotes a certain ideal, or are there other factors? I'd say so. In my city whole foods markets are abundant in the wealthy, white communities but not so much in the predominantly black or hispanic communities. I had a single mom who struggled to cook a "healthy" dinner every night despite time constraints. This dinner was healthier than Mc Donalds, but consisted mostly of TV dinner-type fare...the best she could do, but still not healthy - and she had a heart attack in her 50s. So did my father who had a stressful job involving a lot of travel. What about the expense of joining a gym? Stressors particular to the black community? Access to affordable healthcare and preventive services? There's a lot of things that could be done other than changing cultural stereotypes to fight this problem, like making healthy living affordable for all Americans.
